On September 22, 2025, University High School held the grand opening of its new chemistry lab in room 315. It was an exciting day for science teacher Lauren Denofrio-Corrales, who would be using it as her primary classroom.
“I’ve been teaching out of Mr. Davis’s class and Mr. Jedel’s classrooms, so I’ve been able to do everything, but of course, it’s nice when you have your own home for the students to be in the same place consistently,” Corrales said. “I’m really excited to get back in here so that we have that, because it does feel a little bit hectic when we’re all going to different places.”
The previous lab had not been updated since its initial construction in 1965. Many appliances needed replacement, such as the lighting, cabinets, faucets, and safety equipment. According to ISU records, the updates were estimated to cost about $500,000. Fundraising began about 2.5 years ago. Students from the class of 2023 made commercials with their best sad eyes and pouty lips in a plea for help from the public. They showed off the leaky faucets, broken cabinets, and rusty appliances to highlight the need for a new lab. Thanks to community donors, the school now has this new addition.
Another issue was the seating arrangement. Originally, the teacher was at the far north end of the rectangular room, making it difficult for students at the other end to see demonstrations. “If I was showing them something on the projector, writing something on the board, they had to fully turn around in their seat to be able to see it,” Corrales said. “Because of the way that the room was designed, they couldn’t see over each other’s heads, and we’d have to move around.”
Students will be excited to know that another big change is the lab tables themselves. The new tables have adjustable heights that each group can set based on their preferences using a panel at the side.
“Each group of students can raise and lower the table for a student who’s in a wheelchair or a student who prefers to work standing up, and then we will also have our chairs that have kind of variable adjustable seating too. So it makes it a little more comfortable,” Corrales said.
Student comfort was a major factor in planning. A common complaint about the old classroom was the lack of space. With the new floor plan, that issue has improved. “I think the coolest feature is definitely the increase in space,” senior Taylor Whited said. “We went from that small, low room where it’s very cramped to walk around in to being able to interact with multiple different tables without it being a ‘let me squeeze past ya’ situation.”
At 10 a.m. on the 22nd, students walked into the room with curiosity for their dual credit chemistry class. With an entirely new look, they found their seats and began testing the tables—raising and lowering them, opening and closing charging ports, and eyeing the appliance marked ‘do not use’ in the corner.
Whited recalled her first impression: “I was like, ‘Are we in a high school? Are we at ISU?’ ‘Cause this is insane. This is so nice. This is something I’d expect at a college level.”
Corrales was equally impressed. “I’m very excited because when you look around and you see just like all of the details, like the ceiling is new, the floors are new. The walls have all been repainted. Even the window shades are new. So the amount of work that got done in here and the amount of time that they did it, it’s astounding. So I’m very pleased.”
Three years of funding and a summer of hard work have paid off now that U-High can provide a safe, well-equipped learning environment for current and future chemistry students.
